Ch 5 – Turn Your Head And Cough

Julius' features were, to say the least, flushed. When Zell had asked him if he had wanted to spar in the Training Centre, he didn't expect them to be playing hide and seek.

 - A quick dash to the left –

Julius' hand was out in a flash, the Fire bursting out of the palm and blowing a palm tree to smithereens. Shit! Missed… Dressed now in a cream shirt and a pair of dark pants and boots given to him by the SeeDs, he was beginning to remember the feel of the SeeD lifestyle. The clothing smelt the same as it always had – creamy, as if someone had literally rubbed them in soap then gave them back without washing them – and the company he was in right now couldn't be anything less of SeeD. Work hard, study hard, play hard – that was the SeeD motto, and Zell covered the aspects by a tee…well, maybe not the study bit. Not unless it involved training.

Zell had been darting in and out of the tree lines for some time now, simply dodging in and out of Julius' sight. He had told him to stay put and blast anything that stumbled along his way, as well as trying to hit Zell – if possible. I got to give it to the kid – he's a hell of a lot better then I expected… The tree line around the small clearing in which Julius stood was mostly charcoal now, and the clearing itself was littered with the blackened corpses of five Grats and a very frozen T-Rexaur.

 - Another dash to the left –

Julius suddenly crouched, his hands spread as his hand blazed with paramagical elementals. Blue electricity licked up his tanned arms as he threw his hands out, the fingers pointed directly at the tree line from which Zell just revealed himself.

The trees burst into flame, as usual – but the ground and air crackled with energy as the Thundaga waved through them, giving everything within a ten yard radius a decent barbecue, and anything beyond that a good shock.

Zell stumbled out of the jungle, his clothes smoking, his blond hair standing on end more then usual. His coughed out a puff of smoke, before sticking a thumbs up. "Nice one, man." He spluttered, before sitting down on the floor, his breathing heavy.

Julius smirked, shifting his head to one side and hearing the 'crick' of his neck, before walking forward to join the warrior. "I was wondering when I hit you. So you do have some weaknesses."

Zell smiled goofily. "Yeah. Most of my defences are maxed out…but I'm still a little susceptible to electricity."

"I'll have to remember that."

Zell laughed out loud at that. "Good to know your opponents weaknesses, huh?"

It was Julius' time to smirk. "Something like that."

A battle cry sounded from the edge of the clearing, and Trish suddenly emerged from the brush in a tumble, coming to her feet and facing off against something within the jungle, her chest heaving as she quickly wiped sweat from her eyes. Her blond hair, tied back into a ponytail, stuck to her back, drenched in sweat.

Julius cocked a thumb at her. "I see I'm not the only one you've asked out here."

"She's got potential…but her techniques need to be fine tuned. She rushes into the fray a little too much, as has too much confidence in her strength…I'm afraid that she might get in a little too much trouble if she's too headstrong. Don't worry, I've set someone to help her."

Three grats suddenly emerged from the edge of the jungle, each one bearing down on the thief with as much speed as their little spindly legs could muster. Their originally greenish yellow bodies were peppered with fist shaped purple welts, and several of them had some of their stalks removed. Trish looked at all three quickly – before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

Suddenly reappearing above one of them, she dropped down on top of it. Raising her fist high, she smashed it down, bashing it straight into the mouth of the creature and ripping out some kind of indistinguishable piece of flesh. Zell smiled happily as she tossed it away and jumped to the next Grat. "I see she's already developing attack strategies…excellent…"

Moving to the next Grat from behind, she punched it three times, the attacks smashing straight into the hide of the monster – before it turned sharply, it's tentacle-like stalks whipping out and smashing her across the face, knocking her to the ground and tumbling into a nearby tree trunk.

She shook the attack off…to see the remaining two Grats bearing down on her. She shrieked, holding her hands up – before a boot slammed into the left Grat, causing it to smash into the one beside it and hurtling the two of them into the jungle.

Angel held out a hand, helping the cat burglar up. "Wow, you're fast! But you gotta keep your head, even if you do have that fancy Blue of yours. Speed isn't always everything. How are you supposed to take out your adversary if you can't do any serious damage to the outside? Just because I told you of the Grats weak point doesn't mean you'll be able to use it against other opponents."

Trish nodded, feeling slightly cowed but looking ready to go on. After being checked by Angel, the two of them ran after the monsters, only pausing to wave at the boys before disappearing into the leafy bushes.

Zell waved back, and sighed. "Angel's great. As soon as she asatains SeeDship and gets a few missions under her belt, she'll be the first to be recommended for Instructorship."

Julius smiled, nodding his head, before looking down at his shoes, pushing his spectacles up the bridge his nose whilst picking at a piece of rubber on the soles of his SeeD-regulation boots. Zell looked at him sadly, suddenly feeling like a jerk. I keep forgetting that his girl is a frozen piece of ice… "How was the sleep last night? Did Trish give you any trouble?"

Julius blinked, looking up. "She was a bit confused when I brought Veronica in…but apart from that, we didn't have any trouble." He looked over at the swag leaned against a tree and sighed heavily.

Zell frowned. Julius' words had tumbled out of his mouth, the quiet and in-control hacker suddenly looking very shy as he began to pick at the soles of his shoes again. "Anything you wanna talk about, man?"

"No thank you. I'm alright." Was the quiet reply, Julius retreating back into his shell.

Zell pressed his lips together. Does he…like Trish? I can see what he'd like about her but…he seems so adamant about Veronica… He wrapped his arms around his legs and began to rock to and fro, trying not to let the thoughts of a woman frozen in a block of ice not five feet from where he was sitting allow to get to him. I mean, I've seen freakier things, right? Whats a chick encased in Blizaga ice gonna do to me? Gimme frostbite?

It depends on how close you allow her to get to you, Zell.

Zell looked up to see Rinoa float down to the ground, her white wings flapping with all the grace of an angel. Her blue cardigan flowed around her, and she landed on thin air with little trouble.

It was a bit weird, watching Rinoa move about in Sorceress form.

One; her wings usually got in the way, and she had a tendency to drop feathers everywhere when she was troubled.

Two; her eyes changed from their familiar blue to a smoking white, causing a very weird sensation when talking to her – like her eyes were looking straight through you.

And Thirdly, when she actually did walk around, her feet didn't touch the ground. Her body floated about six centimetres off the ground. Good, if you like performing miracles.

She walked/floated towards the two fighters, a small smile on her lips. Sorry Zell…I couldn't help overhearing your thoughts.

"Yeah, well next time keep your ears or whatever you use to yourself to read minds to yourself, okay?"

Her smile grew wider. Okies, Zell. And who is this?

Zell face-palmed, before standing. "Shit, sorry guys…Julius, meet Rinoa Heartilly, Garden's resident Sorceress. Rinoa, this is Julius Garner, our hacker for the mission."

Julius jumped to his feet and looked down at the angelic figure standing before him. Rinoa smiled up at him, her white eyes blazing with unfettered energy, before reaching out with a hand, her wings flapping gently behind her. Pleased to meet you. She pulsed, her voice neutral.

Julius blinked, before accepting the hand and shaking it firmly. "Pleased to meet you too, ma'am."

Introductions over, Rinoa turned to Zell. So why am I here, anyways?

Zell smiled awkwardly, scratching the back of his neck. "Well…you see, I wanna ask if you could…"

"Rinoa! There you are."

The three turned to see Squall walking towards them, his gunblade strapped to his waist slapping against his leg as he walked over to them. "I thought we were going to do some training later." He said, his usually neutral voice now peppered with a hint of confusion. He looked up at Zell and Julius. "What's going on, Zell?"

Zell looked down at his shoes. He would have rather Rinoa talk it over with Squall alone then to have Zell tell him… "I'm asking Rinoa if she wants to take part in the mission."

Squall blinked – before placing an arm around Rinoa, drawing her protectively into his embrace. "No way."

Zell frowned. "But Squall…the risk of losing each other within the Archway will decrease significantly if we have her with us…not only that, but her magic will be a great help in the battles…"

"I said no."

Squall? What's wrong? Rinoa asked, looking up at him.

Something was wrong with the Balamb Commander. There was fear in his eyes as he looked down at her. "I've been lost in the mists of time before…I cant bare to think of Rinoa being lost too."

"You'll have no choice, Leader." Someone else called.

Zell looked up to see a woman and a man enter into the clearing, the brush seeming to spit them out as they moved forward. Zell narrowed his eyes as he saw who the woman was. To say the least, he wasn't happy to be in her presence.

"Emily…" He hissed, visions of the woman who had almost killed him swimming in his view. Her sultry appearance, her usually Gothic clothing replaced with the SeeD uniform of Galbadia Garden, was all a front. Her ability to use Status Blues made her a formidable opponent – not only that, she had several mind controlling Blues too.

She moved forward slowly, looking about her with her hands in her pockets. Her eyes ran up and down Julius' body, her expression obviously showing that she enjoyed what she saw. When she spied Rinoa in Sorceress form, however, she simply snorted and moved to stand just a little off from the group.

The man was Commander Carpenter, his wavy brown hair combed neatly as usual. He was dressed in his usual tie/suit combo, making him look a lot more like a politician then the Commander-in-chief of all the Gardens. It suddenly occurred to Zell that he had never heard of how he had risen to the rank he was in right now – people had simply began to hear about a Commander-in-chief one day. He didn't even know if he was a warrior of any kind…

"What do you mean?" Squall asked, his voice cutting through Zell's train of thought.

"We need her, Squall." Carpenter said, moving forward. "She's one of the only people who has the power to defeat who I think will be the main enemy in all this."

"What? What 'main enemy'?" Zell asked, pushing past Julius to move in front of Carpenter, looking up at the taller man.

Carpenter cleared his throat, before reaching into his coat pocket and removing a picture. "This was found on one of the bodies of the three foreign agents who can through the Arch."

Zell received the picture, and looked down, feeling Julius, Rinoa and Squall crowd around behind him to look at it as well.

Within the picture was a grand castle of epic proportions – it made Ultimecia's fortress look like nothing more then a sandcastle. The tiers seemed to go on and on, the towers reaching up into the sky like fingers grasping for the heavens. Scores and scores of soldiers, all clad in shining metal armour, stood in what looked like the massive courtyard of the castle. They had their arms raised and their faces were screaming, as if to shout a battle cry that would make the pillars of heaven tremble.

And above them, standing on the wall just above the soldiers, sitting on a throne larger then any Zell had ever seen…

…was a woman in black, with white wings spread wide, the wing span seeming to cover the sky.

*          *            *

Zell lowered the picture, his face full of concern. "Another Sorceress…"

What makes you think I'll be able to take her on? Rinoa pulsed to Carpenter.

"Well, your Sorceress powers make you basically unbeatable in this universe…plus, with the power you've shown us, the current level you are showing is nowhere near what you could achieve."

Squall stepped forward. "Well, if Rinoa is going, then I'm going too."

Everybody looked at Squall with wide eyes. Even Emily, who after her initial remark had sauntered over to a smoking tree stump and began to pick at it, looked at him as if mad. Commander Carpenter stepped forward. "Squall…the whole point of this mission is the fact that weapons that we have cannot pass through the Arch. We need people with good magical and fighting capabilities."

"I'm well trained in all forms of paramagic, sir…"

"You're not as good as Rinoa or Emily, however."

Squall blinked, looking down at the girl in his arms. She looked up at him sadly, her wings folded behind her in a timid fashion, as if showing her inwards want not to go. But… Its for the good of the world, Squall. Rinoa pulsed. You understand that, don't you?

"…I'm your knight…" Squall murmured. "Who will protect you?"

"I'll protect her, Squall." Zell said, stepping forward and placing a hand on his friends shoulder. "I'll protect her with my life. I'll protect her like she was Angel."

"You could never protect her like I could, Zell."

The flat and sharp injection of words chilled Zell to the bone, and he saw the protective glint in Squall's eyes. It's like he's already lost faith in me…I didn't even have the chance to defend myself against the accusation! "Squall, you heard the commander. What will you do when we get through? You'll be useless to us! I can't have dead weights in the team!!"

Squall looked down at Rinoa once more, before looking up at Zell. "I'll…I'll find a weapon once we get through. And I can hold my own against these bastards when it comes to magic…believe me…"

This was a side that nobody had ever seen in Squall before. He was literally pleading to be included in the mission, for the sole purpose of looking after his Sorceress. His eyes, the dead neutrality now gone, was replaced by an imploring look, like a puppy dog in a shop window begging to be released.

"Out of the question." Carpenter said flatly. "We have to do it this way. It's the best way."

"Why sir?" Zell asked suddenly, turning to Carpenter. "Why can't we send Squall in? He could acquire a weapon, like he said, and he isn't a pushover when it comes to magic. Why are you being such a hard-ass about this?"

Carpenter's face suddenly grew grim, and he pointed a finger to all three SeeDs. "You are not here to question my judgement, Mr. Dincht, or you two either. You are here to save the world, and you'll do it by my way." He blinked suddenly, his aggravated demeanour as covered as quickly as it was shown, and he brushed back a slick of hair that had fallen from his neatly brushed do. "Now, you'll present your recruits to Galbadia Garden at fifteen hundred hours tomorrow afternoon, Mr. Dincht. Don't be late."

His ultimatum served, Carpenter turned and stalked out of the clearing, his stride a little more brisk then when he strode in. Emily quit her bored inspection of the clearing and sauntered after him, pausing before Zell to give a quick wink, before disappearing into the same clump of leaves as her boss.

Zell scuffed the dirt with a boot. "Dammit, since when did he become such an asshole?!"

Squall shook his head. "He's under a lot of pressure, Zell. I know how he feels." He looked back at Rinoa. "But I'm not letting her go without me. I'm going wether you like it or not."

Zell bit his bottom lip. He is good at magic…and how hard will it be to find a blade in another universe? Its not as if nobody uses them anymore… "I don't think Commander Carpenter will approve…but I'm with you. Besides, I think I'm going to be needing another head to think this through with me anyways. Having a Sorceress thrown into the mix has completely knocked me off track – no offence, Rin."

None taken, Zell. Rinoa closed her eyes and allowed her wings to retract into her back, the white feathers retreating into the breadth of the span. The whole procedure took less then ten seconds, and when she opened her eyes the cheeky blue was back. She let out a small breath, before looking up at Squall. "Although it's going to be a bit weird going up against another Sorceress again. I don't wanna think about what happened last time…"

Julius, silent up to now, blinked hard as he looked at Rinoa. "Did I just see her retract her wings into her back?"

Zell nodded, his voice hinting his amusement. "Yeah...." What, never seen a Sorceress before?

"How did she do that?"

Zell shoved his hands in his pockets and smiled a big grin. "You'll find out sooner or later." He looked over at the couple standing before him – dark entwined with blue, Squall looking into Rinoa's eyes like there was some kind of hidden meaning for life within them. "So guys…what's the verdict?"

"He's going, Zell. It's that simple."

Zell's smile grew bigger. "Wouldn't have figured it any other way. Well, get some rest – we're all going to need it for the examination tomorrow."

*          *            *

The Garden had been in manoeuvres within the Hasberry Plains, pitting their students against the students from the newly revived Trabia and Galbadia in war-games. It had been tough against Balamb – their Garden was the smallest of the two others, their students hardly able to withstand the sheer numbers from the other Gardens. What they had been unable to make up in numbers, however, they had made up in expertise.

Having the Sorceress Heroes as Instructors had made the Balamb students next to invincible, able to withstand almost half as much power as the other Garden students. They were stronger, faster, and more able in their abilities and weapon handling then the other Garden students.

Zell smiled as his class of students walked into the Garden, the metallic clang of the gates swinging shut behind them as they walked in through the front gates seeming to echo throughout the almost empty Garden. "Excellent work guys! You really had them on the run there!!"

A boy holding his bleeding side and grimacing looked up at Zell. "You've got to be kidding, Instructor. They wiped the floor with us."

Zell paused, turning to look at the hundred strong students who took his fighting classes. Many were wounded, some with broken bones and injuries too horrifying to explain. Others were so exhausted they had to be held up by the wounded ones to stop from collapsing.

Zell himself had sustained some injuries, his shirt ripped in several places, singed in others by magic. His lip had been split and bled freely, a clumsy mistake that had been punished harshly by the offending Instructor from Galbadia.

"Come on, guys! Why so glum? You defeated over a thousand students from two different Gardens! That's gotta be some kinda new record!!"

"They still beat us, Zell…bad."

Zell shook his head sadly. "Come on, guys! You should be happy! Do you have any idea how humiliated those guys are? We're the ones who should be celebrating, not whining on how unfair the fight was!!"

The students walked past him silently, leaving his echoing words hanging in the air like dust in the wind. He moved to the side to allow them more space and watched as the ones who didn't see the field medic move to the Infirmary, whilst the rest took a one-way trip to the Dorms for some well deserved R&R.

Zell sighed, sitting down on a bench heavily, his body making a 'thump' noise as his butt hit the hard steel. They had accomplished what no Garden had been able to accomplish since they had began to operate. In his mind, they were all as great as Squall, or Irvine, or Quistis.

"Hey Zell!" Trish called, walking from the Cafeteria with a piece of bread in her hand.

Zell leaned forward, leaning on his legs with his arms. "Hey Trish. Taking advantage of the cooks generosity, it seems?"

"Yep!" Trish agreed heartily, popping the last morsal of food into her mouth and swallowing it in one gulp. Her dress couldn't be any more different then his, her blouse clean and coloured a bright orange compared to Zell's torn and burnt SeeD battle-uniform.

She plopped down into the seat next to Zell and looked at him, studying his face. "You look like you've been busy."

Zell smiled at her, suddenly feeling tired. "I have been busy. I just led a hundred of my students into a battle against two different Gardens. We got beat – but we took down scores of them in the process. Why aren't they happy with that?"

Trish was silent for a second, watching Zell as he bowed his head, his somehow indomitable will seeming to waver. She placed a hand on his back and began to rub gently. "Maybe they don't see that second best is good enough. My teacher always told me 'second best is nothing – you either get the prize first or you get nothing.' 'Course, he died trying to pry the wedding ring off an old man's corpse whilst still in a burning house, but that's beside the point."

She realised that Zell was looking at her with a deadpan expression, and she retrieved her hand shyly. "What I'm saying is, although you're proud of them, it wont always make them feel better about the outcome. Don't worry about it. They'll get over it. They're professionals, right?"

Zell smiled. "Not really…but you are right. They're going to have to learn that defeat is a part of life…even if the odds are stacked against you."

Trish smiled at him. "There you go. 'Life is shit – get over it'."

Zell laughed at that, and stood. "I'm going to get changed, then we'll head over to Galbadia garden for our meeting. Can you find Julius for me?"

"He'll probably be in the Training Centre – he hardly ever seems to come out of there."

"He's weird like that. Go get him and meet me here in half an hour."

*          *            *

Walking into his Dorm room, Zell stepped back in surprise to see Squall sitting on his bed, waiting for him. "Whoa, Squall! Didn't expect to see you here." Zell stood in the doorway for a second, before placing a hand on his hip and smirking. "Look, do you mind? I kinda wanna get changed, and you're kinda imposing and everything…"

Squall stood, his hand on the haft of the gunblade strapped to his waist. His own clothes and face were messed up. It seems that he had just gotten back from his own battle manoeuvres too. "Zell…you're going to the Galbadian Garden now, right?" He asked, his voice monotone as usual.

"Yeah…all of us." Zell narrowed his eyes as Squall's grip on the gunblade tightened slightly, Zell's smirk fading away. "Squall…what do you want?"

"I want to come too."

Zell shrugged and smiled again. "Sure man! The more the merrier. I told you that yesterday."

Squall blinked, his stony exterior suddenly revealing the uncertainty brewing beneath. "Oh…okay…" He moved to walk out, before Zell placed a hand on his chest, stopping him.

"Squall…I can't promise anything. You know the rules. Rinoa isn't even a SeeD. And this mission has strict guidelines on which we need to follow. I'll follow you every step of the way, of course…but we have something bigger to focus on, man. Just remember that."

Squall cracked a rare smirk. "Do you think I haven't taken that into consideration?" He muttered, before Zell allowed him to brush past, walking smoothly out of the Dorm room and into the corridor beyond.

"Maybe, dude…" Zell muttered, watching Squall disappear behind a corridor, before shutting the door with a press of the door stud.

*          *            *

Galbadia Garden, as usual, was magnificent in the Galbadian air. The brilliant red of the marble walls reflected the sun perfectly off of their polished surfaces, the small clumps of greenery smattered across the garden seeming to just pull off a certain charm to cover the almost cold interior.

Zell walked forward smoothly, his tattooed face holding a smile that couldn't be copied. He loved Galbadia garden, not for the fact that they were perfectly disciplined, or that it was the quietest Garden – it was the fact that the students and SeeDs were always eager for a spar or a battle, and would drop anything to pound ten-tonnes of shit out of anybody who stood in their way. Galbadia Garden personified the meaning of 'military installation'.

The camaraderie of the Galbadian Garden was almost second to none too. Galbadia had put up a decent fight against Edea when she had taken over their Garden all those years ago…but even facing their entire faculty, she had still been too much for them. It still marvelled Zell at how Irvine had been able to defeat her with nothing but his guns…but then again, Irvine always had a perchance for luck.

Trish walked just behind Zell, her eyes wide as she looked all around. She was dressed in his battle gear – snug sneakers, a pair of black track-pants and a light green tee-shirt. Her long blond hair had been tied up into a long braid, which bounced along behind her as she looked around at everything. Everything was analysed as she took in her surroundings – places to hide, items of unique worth, the levels of the floors and areas which would be good boost points – it was a thief's wet dream, and she was basically itching to have a good, thorough look around.

Julius walked behind Trish, his eyes almost closed as they began to pick their ways through the corridors of the giant facility, his giant swag swung over his shoulder smoking slightly in the warm Galbadian air. The cold didn't bother him – he actually absorbed Ice elementals, so it made him feel better. He was dressed in long brown pants and a white sweat-shirt, his spectacles glinting in the corridor's lights as he pushed them back up the bridge of his nose.

He was tense – but only slightly. If the SeeDs were going to pull anything, they would have done it already, and since they hadn't tried to take Veronica off him, it would seem that they were being serious about the mission. He had no choice – Zell's offer was way too good to be passed. He needed to se this through to the end…for Veronica.

He looked down at Trish, watching her wide-eyed enjoyment as she studied the facility intently. He remembered what it had been like to be a first-year SeeD accepting a mission in Galbaida, and having to camp out in Galbadia Garden for a few days. It had been a serious change of environment – the warm climes mixed with the cold hospitality of the Galbadian students had been a little overwhelming for the young Julius – but he had grown accustomed to them eventually. He realised that Trish was looking up at him, and he gave her a small smile before diverting his concentration back onto his surroundings.

Squall and Rinoa walked at the back, Squall never more then three feet from Rinoa at one time. His sudden mood swing had surprised everybody immensely – but to him, it had been a bigger surprise. Having Rinoa around had made him come out of his shell, and the threat of her being taken away was like holding his life at knife-point – he was depended on her, he needed her – and he wouldn't let anybody stand in his way.

Rinoa looked at Squall with curiosity, watching as he struggled with the mixture of emotions brewing within him. Usually she would ask is to share them with the people around them – but she had the feeling that now wasn't the best time to have a 'Squall Session', as she liked to call them. She loved her knight with all her heart and soul, and would protect him with her life if necessary – but she also knew how much his job meant to the world. SeeD wasn't just a mercenary school – it was the Guardian of the world, the defender of whatever would see to harm Gaia. Having Squall struggle with these conflicts like he did when they fought Ultimecia was dangerous, for all concerned.

After walking through what had seemed like a maze of corridors and alighting a flight of steps, they finally arrived at their destination.

Squall moved forward, stepping up behind Zell. "That took a lot longer then it did when we first came here…"

Zell gulped. "I got lost, okay?! Is that alright with you, Squall?!"

Squall face-palmed and walked back to Rinoa, who was giggling alongside Trish.

Zell composed himself – it can happen to anybody, Squall thinks he's so good, I'll show him – and pressed the button for the elevator.

With a tinny 'ding' the elevator doors opened – revealing Emily Strange and Commander Carpenter. Carpenter checked his watch. "Right on time, Zell. Lets get this thing going then, shall we?"

*          *            *

Zell watched, amused, as the man probed his body.

All the people taking part in the mission had been taken to a level that Zell hadn't been to before in the Galbadian Garden – one big wide-open area lined with rooms, which the elevator emptied out into. The areas looked like a large waiting area – the middle of the room was lined with benches. This must be the Infirmary, Zell had figured. Trust Galbadia to go over the top with medical as well.

Within the open area had been six separate SeeD doctors, who had gone to a respective person and led them to a room, quietly shutting and locking the door behind them before asking their respective patron to strip down to nothing.

Carpenter had said they were going to physically and psychologically examined, although not to any major extents. So far the little man in the white coat hadn't put anything where it wasn't supposed to go, so apart from the fact that he was standing butt-naked in the middle of a room full of medical equipment with a little man poking his ribs with a metal rod, Zell was feeling pretty jubilant about things so far.

"So, you come here often?" He joked with the little man.

The man in the white coat looked up at him with a typical Galbadian SeeD stare – as if to convey his contempt for the warrior before him. "Believe me, Mr. Dincht – I have better things to do with my time then to examine you."

"What? Have to brush up on your gynaecology, huh?"

The doctor pressed his lips together and poked Zell a little harder with the instrument, making the fighter yelp in pain. "Ow! Watch it…"

*          *            *

"Spread your arms out, please."

Trish did as the female doctor asked, holding her arms up and out. The doctor pulled out a small measuring tape and began to take her measurements, pulling the tape tight over Trish's considerable chest.

Trish waited until the doctor's ear was close to her mouth, before speaking softly. "I'm bisexual, you know." She whispered, allowing her breath to tickle the woman's ear.

The woman, not to Trish's tastes but pretty none-the-less, blushed hotly and continued with the examination without saying a word.

*          *            *

"Now Mr. Garner, if you could step on these scales."

Julius did as the man ordered him to, walking onto the scales and watching as the man recorded the weight. "Seventy-three kilograms…very good for a man of your proportions. You can step off now."

Julius stepped off, looking at the swag leaned against the wall beside the door before turning to the doctor. "Anything else, Doctor?"

The doctor gestured for Julius to follow him, and sat him down on a chair. "Now, Mr. Garner, I'm going to place this band on your head. It will measure your magical impulses, as well as your brain waves and psychological patterns."

"Wow…" Julius muttered as the doctor tightened the straps. "I never knew they had theses kind of thing in SeeD."

"We have them on loan from Esthar. Now, please clear your mind and concentrate on the picture on the screen, if you will…"

*          *            *

"I'm so sorry…"

"It's ok, Miss. Heartilly."

"No, I'm really sorry! It always happens to me whenever instruments like that come near me!! They just seem to blow!!"

"It's fine, Miss. Heartilly. Nobody was hurt. We'll just assume that your magical output is…above normal. Now, please clear your mind and concentrate on the picture."

"Are you sure I need to do this naked?"

"I'm a professional, Miss Heartilly, and besides, we're both women, right? This is the way the examination is supposed to go. Now, please concentrate…"

*          *            *

"Mr. Leonheart, I'm not picking anything up."

"Maybe your machine is broken."

The doctor checked the machine again. "I'm sorry, Mr. Leonheart, but I'm still not picking up anything. Please concentrate."

"…What's this supposed to do, anyways?"

"It measures your magical input/output ratio, as well as emotional and psychological factors regarding your mental health. So far, your magic scale seems to be working – but I'm not getting anything off of you emotionally."

Squall rolled his eyes and face-palmed. Haven't these idiots been briefed?

"Hey, there you go…"

*          *            *

Zell walked out of the room, pulling his shirt over his head as the door slid shut behind him. Brushing his hair back, he looked up to see Carpenter walk forward. "Everything go well, Zell?" the Commander asked, smiling warmly at the world martial arts champion.

"Your little geek gave me a clean bill of health." Zell muttered irritably, his good mood gone.

"Was something the matter?"

Zell looked at him with a deadpan expression. "Lets just say it's a good thing he's a doctor – otherwise I would have wiped the floor with him. Little dork needs to develop a sense of humour, for Hyne's sake…"

Carpenter chuckled. "Well, at least you passed. You're now fully qualified to go through the Archway. If your comrades pass their physicals too, they'll be joining you shortly."

Zell breathed a sigh of relief. "Thanks for allowing Squall on board, sir. It means a lot to both me and Rinoa."

"Lets just hope we don't regret it, hmmm?" Carpenter said, a mysterious look on his face…before another door opened, allowing the occupant to walk out. "Ah! Emily! How'd it go?"

Emily walked forward slowly, her face impassive. "I'm all ready, Commander."

Zell blinked – before his face crashed into a deadly frown. "Whoa – who invited her onto this picnic?"

Carpenter looked at Zell with confusion. "Her Blue's are some of the greatest in the whole of Gaia, Zell. She'll be an invaluable addition to the team."

Zell placed an arm over Carpenter's shoulder and walked the two of them away from the girl, who stood with her arms crossed, looking very peeved at Zell's reactions. Zell moved Carpenter to the other side of the room, before placing both hands on his Commander's shoulders, looked him straight in the eye, and spoke in pained tones. "Please reconsider, sir."

"Zell, she's going wether you like it or not. She has a place in this mission too."

Zell allowed his head to flop forward in defeat. "Aiyaa…" He looked up at Carpenter. "Fine. I'm allowing Squall to come, so I suppose I gotta give you this. But just remember – if she pulls any funny shit, I'm gonna beat a lot more then sense into her, got it?"

Carpenter smiled happily. "Agreed!! Well, have fun." Patting Zell on the back, he walked over to Emily, spoke for a few minutes, before getting on the elevator, disappearing from view.

Zell slammed both palms into his pockets and walked over to a bench, plonking down on the cold metal with a sullen expression on his face. It wasn't the fact that he didn't want her on the team – she would be a good addition if they needed to interrogate someone, which was most likely – it was the fact that she had been undercover the entire time he had been tortured during the Tournament, and hadn't released him when she had the opportunity, taking the time to try and continue his torture instead.

To say the least, he didn't like her.

He sensed her moving over to him, and felt her sit down next to him, her side brushing with his as she sat right next to him. He shifted to the right a little, putting some space between them.

She sighed. "My gods, Zell, of all the people on Gaia I think you'd be the first to forgive and forget."

"It's a bit hard to forget a person who threatens to bite off my…never mind."

Emily turned to him, her pale features twisted into a frown. "I wasn't going to…bah, you're impossible!!"

They sat in silence for a few minutes, the tension growing so thick you couldn't cut it with a chainsaw. Finally, Zell rolled his eyes. "So what was the deal with Sam?"

"What do you mean?" Emily asked.

"How was he able to be up and about so soon after losing a leg?"

Emily smirked. "If you were thinking a Regen Blue, you're way off. It was all technological."

Zell shook his head. "That figures. I ran into the last of the Defectors about a month ago. Their commanding officer muttered something about Bionics…"

"Yes. Sam was fully prepare for anything…" Emily's voice trailed off into silence, and Zell looked over to her to see that she was staring at her hands.

"Were you guys…close?"

"No! He was an asshole!" Emily said, her voice tight with anger. "I'm glad you killed him."

Zell looked down at his hands too, before sighing. "I'm sorry, Emily. Even if you meant what you just said, I'm still sorry."

"Just shut up, Hunter."

*          *            *

Interesting developments so far, peoples!!

Sorry I haven't been updating as much as I should – busy busy busy!!

This story will be kicking off in the next two chapters, as Zell and Co. will be finally going through the Arch!! What will they find on the other end? You'll just have to keep reading to find out!!